THE GREY
by KRAlover
Summary: He would have never though that this was the way things would end. So much has changed and was going to change. Harry took his last glance at the view before him and apparated away. He knew that he had nothing more to give.
1. Discovery

**THE GREY**

* * *

 **HEY GUYS! This story is intended to be very long and I will be updating every Friday! I hope you enjoy it and please if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!**

 **Also i would like to thank my Beta, CalliopeGalaxy!**

* * *

He would have never though that this was the way things would end. So much has changed and was going to change.

Harry took his last glance at the view before him and apparated away. He knew that he had nothing more to give.

 _13 years ago_

"…ARE YOU MAD!?" Uncle Vernon asked as he tore into the kitchen. His eyes were livid and if this were a cartoon Harry could imagine steam sprouting from his ears. "How many times, in these six years have I told you boy, that Dudley is allergic to peanuts? HUH? Are you trying to kill him? Handing him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I've always said that you are DAFT!" he shouted the last word and opened the trashcan with such force that when the metal lid connected to the wall, Harry jumped and Aunt Petunia shrieked from the next room.

"Vernon? Vernon are you okay? Did the freak do something to you?" his aunt stepped into the kitchen and eyed him warily.

"That _thing_ " he pointed to Harry, "knows better than to unleash his _freakiness_ in my house! Huh? Don't you, boy?" He cocked his eyebrows and looked straight at Harry. Not giving him a chance to respond, he continued, "Not after that lesson I gave him last time! The boy knows better! Even though he's daft…." He shook his head and stalked out of the kitchen and dragged his wife away with him, probably to watch one of their stupid TV shows.

Harry sighed and leaned on the counter. Damn his prank failed, miserably if you may. Ever since he had discovered that he could do things that no one else could, he had been practicing so maybe he could make his life easier. It had started with little things, like, moving a piece of crumbled paper around the nursery school he attended with his cousin when he was four years old. He didn't have friends, courtesy of Dudley; that bloody rhino kept telling everyone that he was a freak, that they should all keep a distance, and that he had a disease like his parents! So naturally everyone kept a safe distance from him, and Harry not having anyone to play with, passed the time by staring at inanimate objects and making a life story for them. There was this particular old chair that he deemed a celebrity among the other furniture, it was posh looking with burgundy cushions and yellow stripes on them so he had decided that it belonged in the Buckingham castle, but due to its ugly state it was kicked out and gifted to his school. Honestly it went pretty well with the ugly wall that was painted yellow because they were too cheap to clean the stains.

It was a particularly cold day and Harry was sitting by the window and looking at the angry sky. In a way he thought he could understand its anger and frustration, that is if you can relate to the weather. Maybe the sky was lonely like he was so it was trying to make everyone else feel how it felt. Alone, angry and sad. That was why Harry loved this weather; if Harry wasn't allowed to go outside and play and enjoy the sun then no one else should either. He was so mesmerized by the clouds that when a paper ball hit his head his whole body jerked forward and he fell from the windowsill.

Laughter could be heard as Harry tried to get up. He starred at the crumbled paper by his feet, far too proud to cry or show any indication that their antics bothered him. The paper moved and was thrown towards the obnoxious little blond girl that followed Dudley around like a puppy, on the back of the head. Since everyone was trying to look away and not be recognized as the culprit they were looking away, pretending to be playing with Legos and trying to muffle their laughter. So the action went unnoticed, but Harry was now very much curious.

"Oh god! Harry, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Mrs. Art, one of the teachers, rushed towards him interrupting his musings and looking him over several times to make sure he was alright. "What happened sweetheart?" Her American accent always comforted him, in a weird way he liked the distinction between the British and American accents. He knew it was not logical, but for reasons which obviously the Dursleys were to blame for - he trusted the accent more as if she was not part of the reality he was living in.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Art," he managed to say in a small voice, not wanting to draw more attention to himself.

"Sweetie, I saw you fall after the paper ball hit you," she gave a dirty look towards Dudley the perpetrator of the attack. From experience she knew that reprimanding the children for picking on Harry only made matters worse for him. "Do you want to sit with me? I can read the rest of my story for you?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically, remembering the first time he spoke to her, asking about her peculiar last name, to which she responded that it meant a Champion, a Follower of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Upon seeing Harry's interest on the subject she kindly asked him to give his opinion on the children's book she was writing based on the Norse mythology and Harry having nothing better to do for the nine hours he attended this yellow walled hell-hole, accepted the invitation and spent Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in Mrs. Art's small office listening to her beautiful voice and succumbing into a world of gods and adventures and occasionally asking questions about the characters and their origins, the mysterious force throwing the ball across the room forgotten…for now.

So the first thing he did when he got home, locked into the cupboard after lunch, was to move objects with his mind as he had done with the ball. This of course was met with lots of failed attempts, and when he was angry and on the verge of giving up - the green soldier that he had stolen from Dudley's room when he was cleaning it - was thrown against the cupboard door with a small _thud._ -Harry knew then that if he practiced enough, he could do anything he wanted and stop his tormentors. Which may not have been one of his best ideas because as soon as things started to move around the house and dishes started floating towards the sink to be washed, the Dursleys had reacted very _badly._ Which resulted in Harry being slapped very roughly by his aunt and the four dishes and glasses on the way to the sink shattering on the floor. Dudley, trying to catch the floating dishes, cutt his foot on the crystals sprawled all around the floor. However, that wasn't enough punishment; Vernon sat on a chair by the scene of the crime and berated Harry on his freakiness and disease, while watching Harry to see that he picked every single shard of glass by his hands and discarding them in a little bucket nearby. If he ever dared to do any sort of that magic voodoo like his sick, unstable parents, he will be shipped to a mental institution and straight into a straight-jacket.

And that, to this date, was one of the best days of his life in the six years that he had been breathing on this earth. There were a couple of reasons for this:

Firstly, he managed to freak the Dursley's out and see fear in their eyes; secondly, he found out that what he was doing was _Magic,_ like the Norse god Loki; and finally and most important of all, his parents were like him!

Now, during his stay at the Dursleys all he had gathered from his parents was that they were alcoholics, unstable and very jealous of the Dursleys life. Which resulted in the car crash that killed them both, and burdened the Dursleys to take Harry in. Sometimes Harry wished he had died with them but now he had a way of getting even. So for the next two years he practiced in the dark of the night, locked away in his cupboard and entertained himself in the non-magical pranks he pulled on his awful relatives. After all Vernon did only say _no magic_ ;nothing about the use of his brain and taking advantage of Dudley's stupidity.

 **REVIEWS MAKE ME VERY HAPPY**

 **I MIGHT UPLOAD THE NEXT CHAPTER SOONER ;)**


	2. The birth of a plan

**Okay guys! Here is the second chapter! The next 2-3 chapters will still be focusing on Harry's pre-Hogwarts time and his dealing with the Dursleys, I want to establish his character better and show how different he is from J.K. Rowling's version. But don't worry the future chapters will be filled with lots of mischief! ;)**

 **Also,I would like to Thank my Beta, CalliopeGalaxy!**

Chapter 2:

" _And so the gods agreed that Loki's children must be captured. At Odin the Allfather, and god of the skies' request, a group of gods crossed by night into Jotunheim, the world of the giants."_

"I just don't understand how could all the gods decide that his kids are going to harm and endanger everyone before they even do anything?" Harry said heatedly. "To be honest Mrs. Art, I don't think the moral of this story is good for kids, punish someone for something you assume they will do in the future? Maybe capturing them in the first place will make them bad people afterwards?" He turned his head towards Mrs. Art - or Samantha as she kept persisting him to call her. She was just looking at him, a smile stretched out on her lips.

"Oh Harry, it still baffles me how intelligent you are for your age! Have the Dursleys decided if they will be sending you to that private school for gifted children?" The subject of Harry's education had been a sore topic for him. He knew that the Dursleys would never let him go there, not when it would mean that he was better and smarter that Dudley. Ugh, how he detested his name!

"Mrs. Art..." That made her raise an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, Samantha," He looked at her sheepishly; he still wasn't comfortable with the whole 'first name thing'. He had deduced that he had abandonment issues, if the psychology books that he had gotten is hands on was anything to go by. "We both know they will never let me go there, even though Ms. Hollingworth talked to them. It just made them angrier."

Ms. Hollingworth was his elementary school's principal, after his first week in first grade, the teachers had insisted for Harry to be transferred to a higher level, but again the Dursleys resisted. So now only a week left of his first year and he was just about to kill every single one of his classmates. They were unbearable. It didn't help that Dudley kept spewing lies about him yet again. The only thing that had prevented him from staging the Dursleys deaths and disappearing was Mrs. Art – sorry, Samantha. Even after she left the nursery school where they first met and published her children's book (which had become very successful), she had still kept in touch with Harry. She even dedicated her first book to him and thanked him for the countless hours he tolerated her reading the book to him over and over again, improving it even though they both knew without her, Harry would have either gone insane or murderous… maybe even both.

So to his utter surprise, Vernon had agreed with her when she had asked him if Harry could spend the weekends with her. He guessed they would rather get rid of him for two days and relax, rather than just keep him locked up in his cupboard.

"Oh well, at least you have me to challenge that brilliant brain of yours! Which remiiiiiiiiiiindss," she stretched the last word while she bent down by her desk to collect a stack of books, "Me to give you these." A loud thud averted his eyes to her desk where the books where residing.

"I got you six of the books on your list: _Numbers Rule Your World: The Hidden Influence of Probabilities and Statistics on Everything You Do_ ," she gave him a look, probably wondering if he was actually capable of understanding it. " _The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone (Especially Ourselves)._ " Again he was met with a look. " _Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince_ ; _Strangers to Ourselves: The Adaptive Unconscious_ ; _Brain Rules: 12 Principles For Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School_ ; and _Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams_." Again she looked at him, her eyebrows knitting together. "Are you sure you don't need my help to read these? You know I would love to help you any way I can, sweetie."

"I know Samantha," Harry smiled at her. "But I want to do this on my own. Plus I have that dictionary that you got me for my birthday, and if I have any difficulty with anything I'll ask you." As much as Harry wanted her to help him and read the books with him and explain the parts that he was going to have difficulty with, he knew that his little visits with Samantha where not going to last forever and that he had to be independent and learn to survive on his own.

"Ok then, now let's go back to my story. Knowing you, I had written an alternate ending. Maybe you will like this better?" Samantha was saying as she bent over her desk to find her desired page. She always did know how to turn Harry's frown into a smile. "Ok here I found it!" She snatched the paper up and shook it in the air.

"… _So that was that. I, Loki, received my punishment until the end of the world. Then I will become pure fire, consume my chains and fight against the gods with my fire of destruction. Ha! The last laugh will be mine!"_

"Hmmm so instead of his kids, the gods punish him?" He still didn't like the whole idea of Loki being captured (he was his favorite character after all), but he knew each story had to have a 'moral' ending for the kids.

"Well my sweet Harry, my publisher wouldn't appreciated if the story ends with Loki living happily ever after, after all the mischief he causes. What kind of a lesson would that teach kids? Families will hate me!" she said with a laugh. She really had a beautiful laugh. Harry always liked to think that if his mother was alive, that's how her laugh would have sounded like.

"Do you want more pasta before I drop you off back home? Its almost nine! You need your eight hours of sleep before school tomorrow! Always important to start the week off in a good mood!" She was saying as she guided Harry out of her make-shift office and into the kitchen, where a big bowl of pasta was still sitting with a few red stains around it. He would have removed the stains using his magic but he still wasn't sure if he should tell Mrs. Art about it. She may like magic in theory, in her stories, but how would she react if she knew it was real? Would she shun him like the Dursleys? That wasn't a question he was willing to find an answer to. She was the only thing keeping him sane and anchoring him to this awful world he was destined to live in. Honestly, Harry didn't know how much of this he could take. Would the Dursleys let him leave? Go to university? And even if they didn't, Harry had planned an elaborate escape. After all, with him being more intelligent than his peers and the fact that he could do magic, how hard could it be for him to make money and live on his own?

"No thank you, I think it will be best if you drove me home, I don't want Vernon grounding me because I interrupted them in middle of their favorite show…." It certainly wouldn't have been the first time, not that it mattered. The Dursleys always found something to blame him for and lock him in his cupboard, and to be honest Harry preferred it, it was much better than having to suffer through their senseless conversations and Dudley's hurtful comments directed at Harry. At least in the dark he could relax and use his magic to entertain himself. Recently, he had discovered how to project images from his mind into the air around him.

"Okay sweetie," she gave him a sympathetic smile. If only she knew how much worse Harry was being treated by the Dursleys; but for reasons still unknown to him, Harry just couldn't bring himself to tell her. It made him feel weak, feel ashamed, and if anyone was going to save or help Harry it was himself! He had recently been introduced to the idea of 'Skinner's Box' or as most called it 'Operant Conditioning'. Harry had tried to apply the conditions of the study on the Dursleys, but unfortunately it did not have the desired effects he had in mind. The only thing it achieved was making the Dursleys more suspicious of him and not even letting him out of his cupboard for his birthday. Even though he was met with failure, he was on the right path now, or so he liked to think. After all, he could figure out a way to use his magic into helping him condition the Dursleys into getting what he wanted and ultimately move into Dudleys second room. And if he ever gets that far… _oooohh_ the possibilities were endless! He could finally live like a normal child and be treated properly…well maybe not, just conditioning the Dursleys to ignore him would properly be better, for both their sake's.

"What are you smiling about, you little devil? Another prank on Dudley?" Samantha asked him upon seeing a devious grin stretching on his lips.

"No, well…. Possibly, it's just an idea I am currently working on… but don't worry, you know I always run my plans by you to ensure not to get caught!"

Mrs. Art had been most happy to help Harry prank his cousin and to make sure there was no evidence to lead back to him. She never liked the way Dudley treated him, but she had drawn the line that no prank should physically or _psychologically_ harm him. Well she added that last part after Harry had proposed to make Dudley crazy by making him believe his room was hunted. "Okay, well try to think of a good one! After he threw his cranberry juice on your painting last Wednesday….." she just shook her head madly.

He had suspected that she used to be a bully's object of affection when she was younger and that was why she helped him get even with Dudley.

"Oh Mrs. Art, don't worry! Like you said he only did it because he was jealous! I mean his horse looked like a hippopotamus!" It was moments like this that Samantha was reminded Harry was just a six year old kid - or as he insisted six _and three quarters_ \- sometimes she let herself forget. After all how is it possible that the most mature and non-judgmental person that she had met upon coming to England was a four year old kid sitting by his lonesome in the corner of the nursery school and reading a book? She knew there were things Harry was hiding from her, and at first she had made it her mission to find out and to help the child, so he wouldn't suffer the same faith she had.

At the same time it terrified her that if she got too involved and pushed too hard, she would be responsible in ruining his life or even making it worse. If she couldn't help herself, what would make her believe that she could help him? So she had resigned to only being his friend and helping him out when he asked. It may have been the cowardly way out, but she just couldn't be responsible for screwing him up even further than he was. He just carried so much in him, so much that even a man nearing his death shouldn't have shouldered, let alone a six year old kid.

"Okay well make sure to get your jacket and I'll get your books so we can hop in the car!" She exclaimed as she carried the stack of books that she had bought him towards the door and opened it.

"Yes Ma'am!" Harry had already secured his jacket in one hand and was running towards the door to help Samantha open it.

*A WEEK LATER*

"HAAAARYYYY!" Petunia had been shouting his name for the past minute. Harry hurriedly put on his cloths over his wet body, having just stepped out of the shower. He would just dry himself with his magic when the Dursleys weren't around. As Harry opened the door Petunia stated yelling again.

"Harry James Potter! I have been waiting here for five minutes! Didn't I tell you to hurry up! Its Dudley's first year graduation! Ah my smart Dudders!" She gushed the last part and hurriedly got into the bathroom and shut the door loudly in his face. Typical for her to leave out Harry; he was graduating too! And he had gotten full marks in every lesson! But that somehow made the Dudleys despise him more, telling him how he was a freak and his high IQ was caused by a side effect of his freakishness.

This was going to be a very, very long day, locked in an auditorium with everyone that hates him. Perfect.

 **REVIEWS MAKE ME VERY HAPPY**


	3. Beggining of an End

**HEY GUYS! So sorry for updating late, life has been a little bit more hectic than usual! I feel like this is a gateway chapter to harry actually starting to come to his own, so the next 2 chapters will explore the next four years of Harry's life, so the chapter will be longer! Personally I just want to get Harry into Hogwarts ;)**

 **Also I would love to hear your thoughts on where you think this story is going, and what you want to happen!**

 **I would like to Thank my Beta, CalliopeGalaxy!**

Chapter 3:

Sirens could be heard in the background, almost drowning in the sound of people shouting for loved ones and kids – as well as a few adults – crying.

"The auditorium is empty; so far no casualties."

"Thank god, the fire is almost out. Is the path clear for the ambulances?"

"Yes sir, we only have five more kids to pair with their parents. They were lucky," the firefighter named Clint turned around towards the five kids he had just mentioned. And oh so surprising, Harry was one of them. He wouldn't be too shocked if he was the last kid left sitting on the stretcher.

"Oh my god Jasmine! JASMINE! Where is my baby? Honey?"

"Ma'am your daughter is safe. She is sitting right here," Clint guided a hysterically looking woman towards the red haired girl sitting next to him. She was surprisingly the calmest of all the other four, barely saying anything or crying. She was just playing with her necklace and starring at her hands, ignoring everything that was going on around them. As soon as she heard her mother's voice, her eyes snapped up and a frown colored her otherwise expressionless face. Interesting.

"Oh baby I was so worried about you! Oh god! I thought I lost you! I swear I'll stop smoking! Oh god I should have been there for you! I'm so, so sorry!" Her frantic arms were now circling around her, lifting up from the stretcher. The next ten minutes was filled with similar scenes: mothers and fathers scooping up their babies and dashing off.

"Hey son, do you see your parents?" Clint was now sitting on the empty stretcher next to Harry.

"My parents are dead," Harry said in an agitated voice. He had lost his glasses during the fire, so now everything was blurry and it was giving him a headache.

"I um…. There was no one injured in the fire, just a couple of scratches and bruises, one or two broken arms maybe. Here let's get up and I'll help you find them." He was now using that fake, cheerful voice that adults seemed to think kids liked and it was not helping his headache. Ugh, he just wanted to go back to his cupboard and sleep.

"Oi! Boy! Is that you? Get your butt here right now! Petunia is hysteric!" Vernon was shouting from two meters away. Dudley was clinging to his arms with a tear stricken face.

"Well that's me, thanks I guess." Harry was now scurrying away towards Vernon, a bit slower than usual as he tried to navigate the obstacles in front of him.

"Hurry up, freak! We don't have all day! I should just leave you here!" They were already walking towards the car were Petunia was seating in the passenger seat and clutching her chest dramatically. _Oh, how joyous this will be._

During the whole car ride he could feel the tension building, like bricks in a wall. But now he had to decide, was he going to let them disrespect him and abuse him or show them who they were dealing with. This decision could greatly affect his future dealings with that family.

"Get out of this goddamn car and start explaining what the hell you did!" Vernon shouted as soon as the car was parked. Well it seemed he was going with option two. This was going to be very interesting.

"Vernon! Let's get inside first! The neighbors can hear us! You don't want _them_ to know? Do you?" Petunia was whispering in his ears, trying to calm him down as she rubbed his arms. Who's _them_? Somehow he knew that she didn't mean the neighbors, so who else was there that even knew or cared about his existence?

"Fine, fine…" "GET YOUR BUTT IN THE HOUSE FREAK!" Vernon and Dudley started at the same time. No doubt dear old Dudders was enjoying this immensely.

"And Dudley, honey, we need you to go to your room. We don't want you hearing this." Petunia gave Harry a heated look, and turning around, she guided Dudley towards the stairs. Okay then, this was Harry's moment to set the record straight. He just loved to use that analogy even though he didn't quite get it. Samantha did explain it to him but still… that didn't matter right now. "Actually Petunia, I want Dudley to be here for this. I think it's about time that we… have a talk." Harry straightened his back and pushed his headache away. He didn't have time for that, yet. And by the glare that he was getting from her it seemed that trying to keep that headache at bay was a very smart move. He wanted to do this right and not get angry or show any emotion at all. He had read that that particular trait in people made others wary.

"Boy I have told you time and time again, not to talk like that! You're not better than anyone here! And no normal boy your age talks like that!" Vernon was now glaring at Harry, his eyes were livid. It always irritated Vernon when he spoke in a well-mannered and grammatically correct way; something his own son and wife, or even himself for that matter, lacked greatly.

Then, Harry took a deep breath. Just like he planned he was going to use his magic to 'condition' or maybe a more accurate word to use would be coerce the Dursleys into doing what he wanted, what he deserved.

"Vernon, it is not my fault that you and your family are tossers and lack rudimentary knowledge of correct grammar and words bigger than _freak"_

"Now you ungrateful…" Vernon tried to cut him off, but Harry was having none of it. He pushed them all down on the sofa next to each other and locked them in with his magic.

"I would appreciate it if you don't interrupt me again, understood?" he raised an eyebrow and surveyed their faces. They were afraid. Good. "You all degraded me, hurt me, abused me and over all hated my very existence! Why would you even take me in then? You could have given me up for adoption! Or shoved me off on another relative! And I took it all, mostly because I didn't know I could defend myself; I didn't know how special I was, but now… now I won't let you continue on with your hatred towards me! Things are going to change. You will treat me with respect! And I will be moving to the bedroom upstairs, which requires new furnishing." He may have gotten a bit emotional at the beginning but now he was in control again. Hmmm, what else does he need?

"I need new clothing that actually _fit_ me. And I will not tolerate being called any names and your oaf of a son spreading rumors about me in school! That's not too much, now is it? Completely reasonable; what you should have done for me from the beginning!" He could see Petunia was dying to say something but raised a threatening eyebrow at her and pushed her harder on the couch with his magic. That seems to terrify her all the more and shut her up. "I'm not asking much, just let me be. Don't talk to me, don't look at me, ignore me for all I care. Pretend I don't even exist. Just don't get in my way or even try to intimidate me or go behind my back. _There will be consequences."_

Red flames surrounded the sofa the three Dursleys were seated on. Granted it was a little dramatic, but he was trying to prove a point. Making holograms was always fun, but they didn't need to know that _._ After gazing at their petrified faces he removed the flames and continued on like nothing had even happened.

"I'll be going to college in a couple years and you don't have to ever see me after that, clear?" There was no response, just terrified eyes staring at him. Dudley was still trying to find the trace of any residue of the fire around him. "I said, is that clear?" He repeated louder and three nods greeted him.

"Good, good. Now Mrs. Art will be picking me up in an hour; that should be enough time for you to empty Dudley's room for me. Oh and I require your credit card to buy new furniture. I do not like your taste. It's so… tacky. I'm sure Mrs. Art wouldn't mind taking me shopping." He let out a deep breath. Wow, it was so liberating to let that all out and he was getting excited about his new room and going shopping! He had never gone to a mall before, this was indeed going to be very exciting!

As soon as he lifted his magic from the Dursleys and freed them, Vernon got to his feet but Harry was faster. He started to shake the table next to them and knocked down a couple frames from the wall. That seemed to shut him up and the next hour was in a similar fashion. By the end it seemed that Harry had indeed conditioned them with his magic; and as he had read, fear was a strong motivator. To be honest he didn't really enjoy it. He would have rather them have done this willingly, but that was not a viable choice. He had no other options.

The room was now mostly empty, only a couple frames and marker stains left on the wall, but Harry knew he could just fix that with a little magic. He just had to will it hard enough. He knew he could make anything happen as long as he wished it hard enough, and he couldn't wait to find the boundaries of his ability and discover new tricks.

Now he felt as though his life has just started and he felt _good_.

 **REVIEWS MAKE ME VERY HAPPY**


	4. Makeshift Family

Hey guys! I apologies whole heartedly for updating so late! I hate when other fellow authors do that, but I do understand we all have a hectic life and occasional writer's blocks! I'm introducing more characters in this chapter. And next chapter will be more magic oriented and a certain letter will find its way to Harry! Please comment what you think & Enjoy!

Chapter 4:

Harry was deep in thought, his calculus homework completely forgotten. It was moments like these that made him appreciate what he had done three years ago. He sometimes had nightmares that he was normal, that his magic was all a dream and he would have no means to defend himself against the Dursleys.

But at times like these, as rare as they were a couple years ago, they were becoming more frequent, becoming his every day.

"… Earth to Harry… Harry….. Oi Potter!" That last part got his attention and his eyes snapped towards the owner of the voice.

"Yes, Conner?" he drawled out, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

"Sabrina was trying to catch your attention for the last five minutes. Can you answer her before me Einstein here go deaf? Ow!" Conner was now rubbing his arm were Felix had punched him, his now flushed cheeks matched his fiery head.

"I've told you countless times to drop it! Ok? It was one, one measly mistake for god's sake!"

"Measly? Newton's Law of universal gravitation is measly to you? What was it that you said the equation was? _**F**_ **= (** _ **G m**_ _ **….**_ "Conner was caught off by Felix's fist hitting his arm again, considerably harder this time. "You bloody tosser! I swear..."

Harry knew he had to put a stop to this now or it would go on for the next hour, as it had been happening every day for the past week since the incident in physics class were Felix made his mistake.

"Mates, please do shut up so we can get this all done soon? We promised Brooke to visit her at the hospital before 7." Harry knew that would get their attention and he was right. Brooke was one of his closest friends alongside Conner, Sabrina, and Felix. And unfortunately she had broken her shoulder during horseback riding lessons and was being kept at the hospital to monitor her concussion.

They had all met the first day of classes at The Wiseman private school for gifted children and had formed a special relationship among themselves. They were his family now.

"What do you think we should get her today? Bead loom? Firecrackers? Rubik's cube?"

"Really Sabrina? Rubik's cube? You know we should get one for Felix! See how our little Einstein will do! You know after Harry, I have the best record! 19.5 seconds! Still don't know how Harry does it! 8 seconds! Pshh."

"Jealous of me, Connie?"

"Bugger off, Harriet!" Again Harry rose an eyebrow at him; he always amused him. "Mate, stop with the eyebrow, its creepy!"

"More like you're jealous of us my little Einstein, even moving a mere frontalis muscle is hard for you! Not even in in complete control of your body…" Conner was now shaking his head in mock agony. Sometimes being cooped up in a room with these two was too much to handle.

"Please forgive me Sabrina, I believe you wanted something?" Harry was now crossing the room towards his best friend a fellow witch. She was smarter than him; always distancing herself from Conner, Brooke and Felix when doing homework, something that should take them all an hour or two hours tops, would take the three probably five hours.

"Yes," she smiled at him and dove in her pile of papers to find something. "Okay here it is! On problem 43 what did you get for the value of x, y, and z? I mean I got answers but they look strange…" she was looking at the numbers as if she could mentally make them solve themselves, actually a conversation that they had two years ago. No actual results were found.

"Hmmm…let me see…" Now he was rummaging in his own pile of homework, compliments of being 'gifted' and going to a private school. Those slimy bastards really took this shite seriously. "X equals to 23, y is 27, and z is 0." The information given didn't seem to quite please his friend.

"Well. I'm snookered! How did you get that? I need to get a 100 on the test on Monday!"

"Calm down, here let me show you…"

 _*Hour and a half later*_

They were all sitting in Sabrina's mother's SUV. Céleste Beaumont was a very beautiful woman with blond hair and green eyes that could almost rival Harry's. Any time Harry would see her - which was not much since she traveled all around the world running a muggle (which he had learnt is a term used for non-magical humans) company called Morphée Joaillerie which was based in Paris - she would always be kind and gentle with him. She would teach him all that he had missed about being a wizard growing up with magic-hating muggles, but most of all Harry loved Sabrina's father, Laurent. He was 'a stay at home dad' catering to his children's every needs, which included Sabrina's older siblings, Adele and Benoit. Both older siblings resided in Paris and helped run the company and its various branches with their mother. Keeping the family business alive and fruitful was the long and proud tradition of the Beaumont family since the family firm started trading in Versailles in 1777, and attracted the patronage of its most famous client, Marie Antoinette. The family firm then moved to Paris eventually settling at 9 Rue de la Paix. And now Céleste and Henry, her brother, were the fourteenth generation that owned it.

When Harry had found out that one of the oldest French families in the wizarding world resided in _Surrey_ , of all places, he could not have believed his luck! Without them, he would have been truly blindsided by everything that he would have been introduced to in a year. Apparently at eleven years old every magical… well, 'human' magical child was required to go to a magical institution and learn how to control their powers. Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Durmstrang Institute, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were the three top schools - among others in the US, Japan, Russia, Africa, Brazil - that sent invitations to its desired students and have them attend their school. And not surprising at all the Beaumont family all attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France.

"Okay kids, open the doors cautiously and be careful and mindful of Brooke. Remember that she is in pain and that she needs to rest. So no monkeying around, are we clear?" Céleste was looking each child dead in the eye to convey her message. Being a CEO of a multimillion pound company, she knew how to express herself and achieve the desired effect.

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone responded back in unison and proceeded to get out of the car.

"Sabrina, your dad will be picking you all up at seven sharp. So be ready and don't keep him waiting, okay ma chérie?"

"Oui maman," she kissed her mother's cheek and picked up the bouquet of flowers Céleste had bought for Brooke, and got out of the car.

While trying to find Brooke's room, Felix and Conner had again gotten into a fight and were punching each other the whole way.

"We really need to do something about those two… I don't know how they will survive without me and you mediating between them, and Brooke is even worse than them!" Sabrina said while looking at the boys that had now fallen behind.

Harry couldn't believe that in a year he would be surrounded with people like himself well not really like him. According to Sabrina, Harry's abilities were far more advanced even for a full grown wizard let alone a wandless child! Every time he thought about it, he would get so giddy that he could start jumping up and down and start laughing like a manic person.

"Oi! You two stop taking a piss! Her room is around the corner!" Harry shouted at them and was met with a nurse's icy glare. Oops. Better walk faster. The door to her room was open and Harry saw Brooke's mum, Ms. Adkins, sitting on a chair by the window and typing furiously on her phone. Her red hair spilling around her in odd angles attesting to her staying by her daughter's side every second.

"Oh! Hello sweethearts!" Ms. Adkins jumped up as she saw Sabrina entering the room first, followed closely by Harry and then the last two. "Brooke has been waiting for you to visit since she woke up! Come in, come in," she ushered them in and closed the door behind them so they didn't disturb anyone in the hall. Sabrina gave the flowers to Brooke's mum to put in a vase and everyone was now crowding around Brooke's bed, carefully hugging and kissing her, trying not to make her move too much. Mrs. Beaumont warning was fresh in their minds. Brooke wasn't her daredevil self, obviously tired and in pain, but Harry knew better than anyone else what it meant to have loved ones around you in times of need and pain. Something he was fortunate to have now for the past three years.

Now ten minutes to seven - after hearing Brooke's dramatic explanation of the events which led to her breaking her shoulder and hitting her head and giving her the latest gossip at school - everyone was saying their goodbyes and getting ready to leave and promising to visit her again when she returned home on Friday.

The ride with Laurent was filled with laughter and jokes as always. He treated the kids to burgers and shakes and drove Felix and Conner to their houses. "Harry! My boy, I assume you will be joining us back at the mansion?" Laurent asked Harry but before he could respond Sabrina beat him to it.

"Oui, papa. Est-ce que Adèle et Benoît nous rejoindront ce soir ? Ils me manquent terriblement!" Harry loved it when they spoke French, and because he had been spending so much time with the family since Mrs. Art - who had married a renowned mythologist, professor, and author named Dorien Katsaros, a Greek brown haired man with a very thick accent and five years her senior. Ever since they got married two years ago, Harry had been visiting them less and less. He understood that they needed time to themselves, being newlyweds and all, which reminded him that he promised to join them to see a play next week on Friday. At least he had that to look forward to.

"Harry?" Hearing his name made him snap out of his musings. His friends had long accepted this little quirk of his, after spending so many years in his head and talking to himself, he had gotten used to it.

"Oui?" Harry responded to her in French. He used every chance he got when they were alone to practice. He realized, after she asked whether her siblings were joining them tonight, he had completely missed anything said after that. "I said, Adele and Benoit won't be joining us tonight." A little frown crossed her lips. He knew how much she loved her siblings and she loved it even more when they used the Floo Network and appeared in the fireplace with green smoke surrounding them. When Harry had asked if everyone used this mode of transportation he was introduced to the rules and regulations surrounding this and apparition. Apparently one could use the Floo Network only in the wizarding world, unless approved by the Ministry of Magic. The Beaumonts being one of the oldest and a pure blood family had numerous networks in the muggle world which they used to run their business more smoothly, rather than wasting time on a plane. Being from an important family really did make all the difference in the wizarding world.

He didn't like this distinction between the classes, but at the same time - if he was one of them (and Laurent having checked his family tree had assured him that he was) - he could use his name and family status to get ahead in the world much more easier than a run of the mill simple wizarding family.

"They're with maman. Working." It was obvious she was a little jealous of the connection her siblings had with their mother and father that she didn't. That's why she was so anxious to start going to 'a real school' as she put it and finish, so she could start helping with the family business. All her dreams were only seven years away. It seemed like such a loooooooong time to Harry. He wished he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

As much as he portrayed being always in control and very goal-oriented, the truth was that he was so scared to let anyone see his weaknesses and he would rather have them at arm's length or out of his life rather than feeling humiliated like he used to be. Sabrina and Samantha were the only people that he let be close to him. And they still didn't know everything that he had been through, didn't know of the dark thoughts that passed through his head. He may feel lonely most of the times, but that feeling seemed to be a constant in his life; and as mad as it may seem to anyone else, some part of him loved and craved that feeling.

"Well, you can show me the catalog or whatever they have of the school you're going to! And your dad thinks that I'm going to get a letter from Hogwarts, so you can show me all the pictures and tell me about the academic aspect of it! I would love to learn more!" To be honest, Harry had no clue what to expect from Hogwarts. What would the classes be? The rooms? The other kids? And he remembers Benoit saying something about Quidditch. Apparently it's a very big deal over there, like how soccer was here. That was the analogy that he had gotten from him.

Harry knew that he was very smart. Even smarter than his own friends, but for reasons that he was not yet comfortable with or didn't understand. He instinctively tried to make himself seem less intelligent and aware. Maybe it was because he wanted to finally belong somewhere or maybe it was because he still didn't want to fully trust anyone, at least then he would always be protected.

"Ooh ! En voilà une idée brillante!" She smiled at him and clasped his hand into hers. "Well your school is a castle in Scotland," she said as she was leaning back into her seat and because of the contact he had to do the same to be comfortable.

"The headmaster is Albus….um Comment s'appelle le directeur, papa?" she asked her father.

"Il s'appelle Dumbledore, chérie"

"Ohhh yes, yes, Dumbledore! I knew he had a funny name! Merci papa!" She turned her head towards harry again. "So the headmaster is Albus Dumbledore. He is said to be on the side of the light and very powerful! Have a very long white beard and wears colorful robes with dancing kittens and elves!" She seemed to find this person very amusing, and he couldn't blame her. Dancing kittens and elves? Really? What kind of a school was he going to? Where monsters and ghouls running around freely? And fairies making him breakfast? He didn't like this feeling of the unknown, he wanted to be prepared. "But _my_ school, Beauxbatons which actually means beautiful wands in French," she gave Harry a pointed look, as she always did when she taught him a new word. "Is a beautiful chateau in the Pyrenees Mountains in France, the name of our headmistress is Olympe Maxime, she's a half giant from Greek descendants, although papa says that she denies it! She was even a seeker!" Seriously, a half giant? That's so cool! Harry really wanted to see one up close

"What's a seeker?" he asked her. It was probably a quidditch thing; he could faintly remember Benoit saying something of that kind.

"It's a position in quidditch, you have to be very fast on your broom!" Harry still didn't understand brooms, which seemed like such a Hollywood stereotype type of a thing. Can't wizards just make themselves fly? It should be fairly simple. If you know the physics behind it and you have the power to manipulate the elements in your favor… seemed like a no brainer to him.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, Harry, mon mignon." she said as she hugged him. It always made him blush when she called him beautiful. He wasn't used to such displays of affection. No one other that Samantha had ever in his life complimented his appearance, and to be honest Harry was only now realizing that he was better looking than most people, at least better looking than the people in his town and school… "I'll teach you everything you will need to know," she kissed the top of his head and hugged him tighter. It felt nice.


	5. Re-making of an angel

Chapter 5:

"Charms are a type of magic spell concerned with enchanting an object to behave in a way that isn't normal for that object. For example, the Summoning Charm brings an object to the caster. Charms are also something of a catch-all for spells that aren't Transfiguration, like spells that change the inherent nature of an object. In some sense, if a spell isn't Transfiguration, it's probably a Charm.

"A Charm might cause something to flash different colors. It might cause an object to levitate or even fly through the air. Charms can make a person laugh or dance or even create a bubble of breathable air around a person's head. In all of these cases, the object or the person doesn't really change, they just do something unexpected. Some Charms can be extremely powerful. The Fidelius Charm, for example, can completely hide a person or a place in such a way that no one can find them unless they are given the location by a _Secret Keeper_. Memory Charms can be so strong that they completely remove a person's memory or even damage his or her mind permanently and then we have…."

"Sorry to interrupt but what is a secret keeper exactly?" Harry had been receiving a 'magic' crash course, as Sabrina had put it, for the last couple weeks. Ever since he had asked her to teach him about magic _all_ the Beaumonts had made an effort to teach Harry everything he needed to know about magic before going to Hogwarts. But as Harry had suspected, they had probably covered more than the materials he needed to know for his first year, but he didn't mind at all. After all, information was power.

The more he learnt now the more time he would have in the future to do what was needed. As he had learnt, he was going to be sorted in one of the four houses at Hogwarts. He secretly wished he would either be sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin. They seemed to be the top two interesting houses there. And the history between the two was just so thrilling.

As Laurent was explaining what a secret keeper was to Harry, the first dusting of snow started falling on the ground and Harry just realized this could be the last Christmas he would spend with all his friends. Harry did always know that nothing in life was forever, but having a deadline like this? He just couldn't handle not knowing. What would happen at Hogwarts? Would he find friends again? Real friends, not just mindless sheep he could manipulate into doing is bidding.

As much as he wanted to portray a strong façade, he was terrified! And he was so ashamed of feeling this way. He knew deep down that it was wrong, that what he felt was normal, but then again no human was truly flawless right? Just because you know something doesn't mean that you could follow that line of logic. As Harry knew well, knowing and doing where two very different things.

 _*three weeks later-one week to Christmas*_

"It's Christmastime; there's no need to be afraid

At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade

And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy Throw your arms around the world

At Christmastime But say a prayer to pray for the other ones

At Christmastime It's hard, but when you're having fun there's a world outside your window, it's a world of

dread and fear Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears..."

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid was playing on the radio as Harry, Sabrina, Brooke and Felix were trying to decorate a Christmas tree. Conner was away with his family visiting his grandparents in Ireland and he was not pleased, not at all. After a half hour tantrum and some bribing from his parents, Conner had agreed to go to Ireland 'willingly' after they bribed him with a Nintendo game thing. Harry had seen one at Felix's house but he was never really interested in playing that game with some Italian lad named Mario or something. After playing with holograms and creating his wildest dreams into reality with magic, games like Mario just seemed really lame to Harry and Sabrina, of course but she was never vocal about it.

Though that song really struck a chord with Harry. On some level he could connect with the song and feel the singer's pain. As if she and he had become one person.

As the song was playing, Harry was rummaging through the big box labeled 'XMAS' with Felix trying to find the big star that went on top of the tree, but they had not been lucky so far.

"Felix are you sure your dad said he put it in this box?" Harry asked one of his best mates. They all had a tradition, to spend Christmas at one of their houses each year, and this year Felix was the lucky fella!

Harry was just too glad that next year when it was his turn he was in Hogwarts and didn't have to host their annual Christmas tradition. He had already planned to stay with the Beaumont's next year in Paris. The family had already gotten in touch with the Ministry and expressed their concerns about Harry's family and demanded that Harry spend his holidays away at Hogwarts with them. And with the amount of influence that the family had over the Ministry and Harry's celebrity status, the ministry had agreed very fast. As long as they kept quiet about Harry's unfortunate childhood, as much as they knew about it.

Even though no one but Harry and the Dursleys knew what had really happened between the two, Harry had let the Beaumont family know that the Dursleys didn't approve of his heritage and that was why he had no information of what he really was. So everyone was happy to cooperate and do as instructed.

As Harry was rummaging through the box - Felix had already given up and was playing with his square Game Boy by the fireplace and loudly drinking his virgin eggnog - he came across the star. Three of the five points were broken and the angel face was missing a nose.

Well that wouldn't do, Harry thought to himself. He needed to find the broken pieces and make it whole again. The spell that was meant to fix things came to his mind, 'The Mending Charm, also known as the Repairing Charm (Reparo) is a charm that can be used to seamlessly repair a broken object. It works against most material. This charm was invented by Orabella Nuttley, in or before 1754.' He remembered as Laurent was telling him about this Charm a couple of weeks ago. He never understood why other magical creatures needed words to conjure what was within them. After all, magic was a part of them and Harry didn't need words to conjure it and make it do what he desired. He could just will it and voila! Whatever Harry desired (with some limitation here and there, as he had discovered during the years) would take shape or happen.

So as he was staring at the angel-faced star statue in his hands, he watched as the little cracks on the face begun to fade and the broken pieces found their way back to their original place one by one. No words needed to be said.

"I found the star!" Harry shouted as soon as the statue was repaired.

"Thank you Harry!" Felix's mum shouted from the kitchen, carrying a big bowl with oven mittens and glaring at her own son "Felix! Get off your bum and help Harry!" she shouted as she begun stirring her bowl.

Harry could see as Felix rolled his eyes and begun stalking towards him, a frown planted on his lips. 'Stupid tree' could be heard distinctly from Felix's lips.

After the tree was set up, everyone was sitting by the fireplace, sipping on their drinks. The conversation was flowing and laughter could be heard from the windows outside the patio.

Harry was not ready to let go of what he had just attained. After all these years of solitary holidays, staring out of the window he had what he always wanted, and now he was being forced to leave it all for being _different._ Strangely, this time saying that word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Being different wasn't always good as the Beaumont family had led him to believe.

He was afraid of what was to come.

And he was afraid to express himself.

What was he supposed to do?

 **Hey guys!**

 **First of all I want to Thank my AMAZING beta CalliopeGalaxy!**

 **So sorry for the delay! I was travelling and naturally no time to write!**

 **I just wanted to thank you all for reading this story!**

 **As you all have noticed my plan to update every Friday has failed so far… *sheepishly looking away***

 **And now with my classes starting again next week, there might be slight delays again.**

 **But fear not! I will finish this story and try to update at least every 2 weeks!**

 **Much love!**

 **Gina**


	6. pushing boundries

Hello my beautiful readers! Im back!

I'm so sorry for not updating the story these couple months…. *smiling widely*

If any of you are in college and maybe an architecture major, you would know there is hardly any time to do anything trivial and fun! But alas I have decided to update every 3-4 weeks, so I won't be MIA for months!

I wish you all a happy new year!

And hope that you enjoy this chapter! And please any feedback that would help me better this story is much appreciated!

Much love,

Gina

 **Chapter 6: Pushing the boundaries**

"Now Harry I want to introduce you to'esprit de la nature'. It's like meditation for magical beings, it helps you calm down your magic in moments of intense emotion. With immense practice it can help you strengthen your magic and spells in time. After all our magic comes from nature and the universe; they are all one and continues for eternity. Each plant, animal, rock, and other beings have a spirit or a consciousness so these spirits can join together, in a hive-mind, as a spirit of an area. Now you should know that nature spirits include real biological intelligences, and are psychically powerful, and are much less abstract and controllable than the Elementals that many magical beings who perform all of their rituals indoors are familiar with." Adele was now very excited if the twinkle in her bright green eyes were anything to go by. She continued "they can be extremely powerful allies. With much practice it's even possible to sense nature spirits, to determine if they are receptive to a ritual planned, and to have them actively participate in magical workings. Now sometimes spectacular physical manifestations can happen when working with nature spirits in the wild." A sneeze from harry interrupted her speech. And after a concerned look from adele and a head shake from harry she continued on.

"I have personally seen an foxfire mark the boundaries of a magic circle at a location that was identified as a receptive power spot and attuned to a planned ritual the day before. I've seen more than one site be dry and comfortable, with a round hole in the clouds overhead, on days that were cold and rainy. Even birds have joined in rituals, flying around the circle when energy was being raised!" She was now looking at him more seriously.

"Spectacular physical manifestations are not a necessary sign of success. If you need a spectacular manifestation and nature spirits know this, you will get it. The best success in magic is on the inner planes and subtler than such manifestations. This success involves beneficial changes in consciousness that last longer. Also, working with Nature Spirits can also bring a deep sense of partnership with nature and bring new levels of attunement!"

She was now nodding her head which made her sun kissed blond hair bounce slightly around her, still deep in thought probably trying to see what else she should tell him.

"So to get the best results, you should perform nature spirit attunement several hours to several days before the main ritual. The purposes of such attunement are to find suitable power spots and to get the help of friendly nature spirits. This timing gives nature time to gather her children and to prepare to actively participate in the main ritual."

As she was taking a breath, Harry couldn't contain himself and asked all the questions he was holding onto during her talk.

"Does that mean I can perform any sort of ritual or spells better with the help of nature if I'm attuned to it? How long does that take? Can all magical beings do that? What are the limitations? Also Benoit said something about dark magic…" he was cut off by Adele's laugh.

"Oh Harry, mon lapin!" Here we go with the nicknames again. As much as he pretended to dislike them, he liked them, very, very much. And he knew that they knew. And unspoken truth among the family.

"You need patience! But to answer some of your questions: yes, if you ever succeed in attuning yourself with nature that will help you immensely, as it is an unlimited source of power. But there are limitations specifically when used in the dark arts. Now when I say that I don't mean the new ministry interpretation of dark magic, but the old laws laid down by Merlin and those before him…" Looking at Harry's slightly confused and curious gaze she chuckled.

"Which we can discuss at a later date." She rubbed circles on his back and drew him to herself in a half hug. "Not all magical creatures can do this and for some it is harder than others, specifically human witches or wizards… The more we distance ourselves from nature the harder it gets, now I don't mean physical distance, but our minds."

She touched his forehead where the lightning bolt had permanent residence. "But mon lapin, I have a feeling that you will surprise me once again and do what our society deems impossible." She kissed Harry's slightly now pink forehead.

"But before we end this conversation Harry, I must warn you. If nature spirits are approached with disrespect or by attempting to command them rather than listening to them and inviting them to work with you, nature spirits may flee, rebel, or attack! I once attended a ritual by some pseudo-Crowleyites who attempted to perform the "Ritual of the Barbarous Names" at a power spot in a forest and then to extend the circle several hundred yards in all directions. While the forest in general had loud insect and frog noises, the area at where the ritual took place got quiet immediately when the main ritualist declared that all spirits were subject unto him!" She paused for dramatic effect.

"The vibes from nature could best be characterized as 'Oh yea, Mother...!'" She cut herself off before her mother cursed her to next week. She was very big on good mannerisms.

"One witch was then possessed by an angry spirit and kept repeating 'You killed my children, your children will never live in peace.' When the priestess stepped out of the boundaries of the original circle, she was attacked by bees. They should have known better than to attempt to command spirits whose true names they do did not know!" She gave him a very pointed look. Harry was debating whether or not he should believe her cautionary tale. It did make sense what she was saying so whether or not those events had occurred where really not important.

"Merci Adele!" Harry kissed her cheek and smiled at her. "I will try my best! I won't stop till mother nature loves me!" he proclaimed in a cheeky manner and dashed off to Sabrina, where she was pretending not to be listening in on their conversation.

"I give you…six months," she said as Harry was now standing behind her overlooking on what she was working on. It looked like a diary in _French_. Now he needed to perfect his skills!

"Six months?" What was she talking about?

"Six months until you wear mother nature down." Her golden eyebrows were now raised in a challenging manner.

"I say five!" Harry better start soon then, if he intended to win this wager.

"Deal, same stakes then?" The two best friends shook hands and a green light passed through them, sealing the deal. This would be interesting.

*six months later*

Harry was floating. He could feel everything. The vibrations, the textures, even taste the colors around him. As if nothing and everything in existence was now a part of him, just as a finger or toe, an extension of his body. There but not really there. It was so confusing. And the amount of emotions and vibrations around him did little to help him understand. He felt overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. Emotions all blended together giving birth to something new.

He felt like he understood the universe. He was the universe. It controlled him and he controlled it. Forever expanding and shrinking. Pulsing all around him. Colors melting into each other creating shades he never knew even existed. Does he even exist anymore? He didn't care.

As minutes? Hours? Days? Begun to pass he felt less and less connected to the things that made him and yet he had never felt more connected to them at the same time.

He felt at peace, like never before. He knew. What he knew? He didn't even know. But he knew that he knew and he was okay with just knowing what he knew. Did that even make sense?

He just didn't care.

"Khshhh." "Khishhhhh." "Wha?" " _thump_ " "Merde!"

"Harry?" There was some heavy breathing and French curse words being said by someone, something… French? The Beaumonts? Magic…. _Magic_! It truly was magic. Whatever he was experiencing. _Magic_ …

"Harry? Are you ok?" Benoit's voice was asking him. His voice? Oh Benoit!

"Oui oui….I'm… blimey…that was amazing…I was everywhere and nowhere and the colors and... and…." Harry was now sitting awkwardly on a rock with twigs sticking out of his hair, a silly smile slapped on his lips and his eyes twinkling.

"Harry, what are you going on about mate?" Benoit was now crouching down next to him and raking his eyes over Harry's small form, looking for scratches and bruises.

"I was meditating just like Adele told me! Trying to calm down my magic and connect with my surroundings! And… and ... it was amazing! I don't even know where to begin! I could feel everything yet I was so calm and there were so many new colors! It was just so bloody awesome!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

"But now I'm so buggered," he said as he was trying to stand on his wobbly legs. "How long was I gone?" he asked Benoit as he caught him and brought him to his side still checking him over.

"Thirty, maybe forty minutes…." He had faraway look in his sea green eyes which was nearly buried under his long golden blond strands of hair, clearly not paying attention to Harry's question.

"Really? Thirty? It seemed so much longer…" Harry said and tried to get away from Benoit. He hated when they made a fuss about him.

"Now, now Mon lutin, stop being difficult and let me see if you're okay. You were up two meters from the ground!" Benoit had a teasing smile, clearly loving making Harry miserable.

According to Sabrina that's what older siblings are supposed to do, make you feel loved and miserable. Ugh.

"I am not an elf!" Harry huffed and stomped his feet.

"The pictures I have say otherwise." Benoit said while wiggling his eyebrows and giving him a devilish look.

"Stupid school play!" Harry hated that school play. He, Sabrina, Felix, and three other poor souls had been cast as Santa's elves. While the rest of the school (maybe a _slight_ exaggeration) had respectable roles. Benoit had snagged so many pictures from them and had adopted the term of endearment 'Mon lutin' for Harry which was French for my elf.

"So you were saying something about colors?" Benoit, satisfied with his health, sat on a rock close to him. He dragged Harry on the rock as he was struggling to get away. So utterly _rude_.

"As I was saying _earlier_ ," he gave Benoit a look. "I took Adele's advice and meditated, trying to calm my magic and connect to my surroundings! And it finally worked! I was soooo close to giving up! But I finally did it! I could feel everything and it was… it was… I don't even know how to really describe it…" Harry was shaking his head as if to get rid of the returning feelings.

"Mon dieu! Je n'en reviens pas! That is amazing, Harry!" Benoit was now disconnecting the air flow to his lungs as he encased him in a crushing hug. Clearly impressed.

"How long did it take you?"

"Nearly six months…"

Benoit was now nodding his head in approval, clearly processing the information while echoing his answer "six months that's…Incroyable! Truly impressive !" Harry gave him a small smile, loving the fact he could impress the older wizard, and to his credit he's been doing so for a while now.

"You don't understand Harry, if you've done what I think you have… not many witches or wizards are capable of doing! I still can't completely connect! Adele finally managed to do it when she was twenty years old! And you're not even eleven!"

"I will be in two months!" Harry injected. "That's not the point, mon lutin." He was now sitting in a way that was completely facing Harry and holding his gaze, things were serious now.

"Harry, given your past and history it is no surprise that you are such a gifted wizard. Your powers are so advanced and you haven't even started at Hogwarts! There are so many wizards and witches that can't do what you have accomplished so far! You don't even have a _wand_ yet!"

He was now shaking his head in amusement and patting Harry on the back. "Harry your future will be extraordinary, I promise you that, and with no doubt I can say that you will always come out on top. Me and my family, and even the wizarding world I dare say, will no doubt be blown away by what you can accomplish. And Harry, I cannot wait to see what there is to come!"

Even though he was smiling Harry could see a wave of sadness cross over his light green eyes. Why would Harry's future make him sad? That didn't sit well with harry. He had long ago accepted the role that would no doubt be assigned to him due to the events of the night his parents were murdered and the responsibilities that it would no doubt be appointed to him but sometimes he can't help but feel _suffocated_. He was just a child! He barely had a childhood to begin with! And now until he draws his last breath everything has been more or less planned and expected of him. Why couldn't he just be ordinary?

"Well now mon lutin lets go back, mama was worried about you and sent me to find you and I'm afraid if we take any longer she will send Adele after us. And we both know she would not appreciate being bothered out of her _routine_." He was referring to Adele's daily routine of getting lost in the enchanted forest while on the hunt of rare ingredients for a specific crystallization potion. Which they were camping at for two weeks' now (a Beaumont family tradition that would take effect before their children's eleventh birthday and the arrival of the most important letter thus far in their lives.

"Plus I'm feeling slightly peckish and I know papa made his famous Sole Meuniere!" And with that the boys started running. Oh god Harry did not want to face Sabrina now. Bugger, she knew him better than he knew himself.


End file.
